First the good news: Nine in 10 people said they were satisfied with their jobs or the work that they do — and that remained steady throughout 2008, despite the economy.

And now the bad, even if it's not so surprising: The number of people who said their employer reduced the size of the workforce rose dramatically during the year, from 15% in the first quarter to 23% in the fourth quarter.

That's according to a survey from Gallup and health management company Healthways. Nearly each day in 2008, about 1,000 adults were asked about their physical, emotional and economic and workplace well-being.

When it came to their work environment, many of the 355,334 people surveyed by phone were positive. But there were some labor pains.

Just 47% of respondents from Hawaii said they were satisfied with their jobs, used their strengths at work, were treated by a supervisor as a partner and worked in an "open, trusting environment." That was the lowest score of any state on a work environment index that was compiled by calculating positive responses in those four areas.

Utah nabbed top honors, with 59% of its respondents saying those four elements were prevalent in work lives.

Among the biggest differences between Utah and Hawaii: 73% of Utah respondents said their supervisor created a trusting environment, while only 58% of folks in Hawaii felt that way. The national average was 65%.

The Gallup-Healthways AHIP Congressional Report didn't offer any insights into why Utah ruled and Hawaii ranked so poorly on the workplace front.

Hawaii's residents took the No. 1 slot in another survey area, emotional health.

"Maybe having a job while you're in paradise may not be all that great," says Jim Harter, a chief scientist of workplace and well-being at Gallup.

Utah has done well in separate workplace studies, as well. After considering factors such as unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median household income and the cost of living, Moody's Economy.com named its capital, Salt Lake City, the best U.S. city to work in for 2007 and 2008.

But those glory days have faded, says Gus Faucher, Moody's Economy.com director of macroeconomics. Utah's housing boom turned into a bust later than most states.

The national recession began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Salt Lake City's recession began in November 2008, according to Moody's Economy.com.

From a non-economic angle, Faucher says he can see why Utah would earn strong marks on the work front. "The state is really Mormon, so there is a sense of solidarity" among many employees, he says. "People feel very connected to each other."

Also, with its high birth rate, Utah has a robust population of younger employees who often add enthusiasm to the workplace, Faucher says.

That's the case at the Wasatch Music Coaching Academy in Salt Lake City, school owner David Murphy says. Most instructors are between 22 and 35 years old and are extremely passionate and excited about teaching students, he says. Murphy, 52, who says he has a "dream" job, takes a collaborative approach in managing all staffers: "I see myself working side by side with my staff, not over my staff."

Other job-related survey findings:

•More money, more travel. The higher the salary, the longer the commute to work, with those making $7,500 or more a month traveling for about 24.4 minutes on his or her way into work. The trip time for folks earning less than $2,000 was about 21.6 minutes.

•Big salaries don't buy workplace joy. "Looking across the states, work environment satisfaction is independent of income," Harter says. People at the same wage level had varying feelings about their workplaces.

•Pink slips make a livelihood look rosier. Those employed at companies having layoffs reported greater job contentment as the year progressed. When faced with pink slips, people "appreciate their jobs more," Harter says.

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